The Study Of Modern Human Development
by perspective21
Summary: PREVIEW: Annie starts to realize she's not as grounded as she thinks she is. And why, of all people, is Abed the one to steady her legs?


**A/n:** Decided to give the Abed/Annie fan-base a few snippets from my up-and-coming fic. The 000's indicate that we have switched scenes and each scene is only a small selection from the larger product. Please enjoy, read the A/n at the end, and review with your thoughts.

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"And we're now moving on to the next order of business," Jeff said, pocketing his phone while ignoring Britta's dig at him. "Choosing partners for Dr. Kane's assignment."

"No less than two, no more than three," Annie added.

"Well, I call Shirley!" Britta bit out, obviously still miffed by Jeff.

"Look, let's just draw at random and avoid hurting someone's feelings. That's so Season One."

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"Annie, the reason I didn't choose your group is because I'd rather endure Britta and Shirley's needless heckling over the authority of evolution than I would be mooned over by a love-sick, immature teenager stuck in her fairy-tale storybooks."

The sound of the slamming door and Jeff's receding footsteps echoed like an explosion.

"Right, well, moving on. What'd you say we show em' how—" Annie said as she turned back to Abed, lifting her voice and quirking the corner of her mouth upwards in an attempt to keep the mood light.

"Jeff only said those things because he's trying to hide his feelings from you." Abed cut in. "He thinks that being with you will cause him endless shame and regret because you're young enough to be his daughter and even though he can cheat on his bar exam, he can't reject social standards because he is constantly affirming himself as society's man. But I'm not telling you this so that you don't give up. In fact, I'm really trying to tell you that you should give up because you can do better than Jeff, Annie. He lusts after your body, appreciates your mind as a friend and your innocence as a little sister, but the one thing he can't do is love you the way you want him too."

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She was surprised to feel what appeared to be a warm pressure against her right arm and then a more distinct movement and she felt as if there were fingers threaded between her own squeezing them tightly. As she lowered her head to look down she was suddenly aware of being back in her body, sitting in the car and staring at the dark shape that was Abed's hand holding her own. His warm and dry one pressed against her cold one. She raised her head to search his face but she could only make out his profile, blank as it usually was.

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Abed Nadir stared up at the dark ceiling of the blanket fort, his hands folded neatly atop his stomach. He was puzzled. Annie Edison, he felt, was slowly unraveling herself to him, but yet at the same time she seemed also to be turning into a bigger mystery than he had ever anticipated. It was more exciting than he expected it to be. But then again, he wasn't sure if he ever expected any of this in the first place.

Sure, he knew Annie had a past but his observation of her character and the plot development he had outlined for her was based on two things: a) surface observation among the study group and b) personal interaction. He was beginning to think that there was more to her than she was letting on, more to her than maybe even _she_knew about and that pleased him immensely. It reminded him of the multiple plot twists of L.O.S.T. Once you thought you had it figured out, they showed you that you were either still at the tip of the iceberg or way off base.

The only thing he could really note with complete accuracy was that being around Annie Edison was beginning to make him feel the way he did when Britta introduced him to _Inspector Spacetime_. He took that to be a good thing.

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"Right well, with this extra time Troy and I can get started on the _Inspector Spacetime_ Dreamatorium marathon we've been planning for months." And then he turned to Annie, pressed his lips to hers for a quick kiss, and stood. "See you guys."

Annie stared at his retreating back, unblinking, the weight of his lips still lingering. Here she had been obsessing for days over what the new development in their relationship would mean to the group, if Abed even recognized them as dating, and if he did, how she would announce it to everyone. She had rehashed hundreds of different awkward scenarios that all ended with her thoroughly embarrassed or everyone laughing at her or being angry at her for altering the group dynamic. She thought she would have to be the one to handle it and deal with the consequences, being the more grounded one usually. But here, Abed had solved everything with a simple kiss. No words needed.

"Annie!" Britta and Shirley cried at the same time.

Britta leaned forward, "What was _that_?"

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**A/n:** That's it for now. But trust me, there is SO much more. I'm just kind of taking my time on piecing all of the major scenes together. This fic is going revolve around Annie's character development and how Abed is sort of central to that. Feel free to tell me what you think or give suggestions. It's going to be a one shot, I think. I already have 2,800 some words and I anticipate getting up to 4000.


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